Flaming Roses
by IguessIwritestuff
Summary: Nobody writes about Janna and Tom (originally a one-shot but hey why not add a part 2)
1. Chapter 1

Janna was used to being alone.

Most people stayed away from her because of her extensive knowledge of witchcraft or because she was a skilled pickpocket. Nobody appreciated talent these days.

She hadn't imagined that she'd be third-wheeling on not only her best friend's but also her brother's dates to the winter formal. Invited by both (out of pity), abandoned by both. So the story went, apparently.

"Please!" a shrill, girly voice yelled, and the gym doors were thrown open, the plastic grass on the football field melting under the exiting boy's fiery footsteps. He took a seat next to Janna on the turf, and she adjusted a thin shoulder strap on her black dress. She knew that it wouldn't be enough, she knew she'd be freezing, but Jackie had insisted that it looked pretty and that maybe, just maybe, a boy might talk to Janna tonight of his own accord (not because she took his keys or his wallet). Now it honestly seemed like she'd dressed up for no reason. She'd stuck a pencil dangerously close to her eyes for nothing.

And so described her life, at this point.

Janna raised a hand halfheartedly. "Sup." she managed to say, and the horned boy beside her sighed. She'd seen him a few times before, knowing he was Star Butterfly's ex or something, but she completely spaced on his name.

"Tom." he said, sticking out a hand. Janna pounded her fist against it.

"Janna." she replied. "Nice fangs."

Tom let out a small laugh. "Nice dress."

Janna sat in silence for a minute, trying to think of what she should say. God, it had been so long she'd spoken to a boy without her parole officer standing behind her. How did this work again?

"So did you get ditched too?" she asked. Wow. She didn't think she could mess up small talk but here she was, drowning in a pool she'd filled herself.

"I may have accidentally crashed a date." Tom replied. "Why are you out here? You're kind of pretty. You should be inside with someone."

Janna felt her cheeks heat up. "Nobody asked me." she replied. "It's not like I would have accepted the offers anyways."

She watched as Tom cringed. "Nobody?" he asked. Janna nodded.

"They all think I'm a witch or something. The truth is, I just read a lot of books and spend a lot of time in detention."

"I'm sorry." Tom said, putting his hand down on the turf and accidentally touching hers. They both yanked their hands away quickly.

"Dude, most high school boys are morons anyways. I'm better off alone." Janna replied.

"You have pretty eyes." Tom said abruptly. Janna raised an eyebrow.

"They're brown." she replied.

"Well, under the field light...they're a really pretty brown, uh, in this light." Tom tried, and then groaned. "You know, you could just accept the compliment."

Janna shrugged. "Where's the fun in that?"

"You're impossible." Tom sighed. "Is that why you're out on the football field instead of inside dancing? Even if you did come alone."

Janna shook her head. "I don't dance. I can't dance, to be honest."

"I can teach you." Tom offered, and Janna rolled her eyes.

"I doubt it." she replied, and yet she let him pull her to her feet, bodies dangerously close, and he put an arm on the small of her back. Suddenly she felt warm, not just because his hand was fairly hot, and felt a surge of heat through her spine when his breath brushed across the bottoms of her bangs.

"One." he said, gently nudging her foot with his and pushing it back.

"Two."

He took her other hand in his, squeezing it lightly. He stepped back, and she stood in place.

"You're supposed to move." he said, and Janna raised an eyebrow.

"What if I don't want to?" she retorted, and watched gleefully as Tom let out an exasperated sigh.

"Hannah, if you're not going to let me help you-"

"Janna." she interrupted, stepping forward to get in his face. Her height wasn't exactly helping her to look threatening but she knew she could stare him down if she had to.

"I know." Tom replied. Janna looked up, the top of her beloved hat brushing against his chin.

"What?" she asked, and Tom pointed to her feet.

"You moved, didn't you?" he smirked. "Don't take it personally, sweetheart."

"You are such an arrogant prick." Janna hissed. She could feel the scent of rotting flesh and that over-commercialized body spray fill her nostrils, and wasn't sure which scent was worse.

"And you're a little girl with a big mouth." Tom replied, watching as she balled up her fists. Her face was close enough to his that he could see the gold flecks in her brown eyes, accentuated by the messily drawn black pigment on her waterline and eyelid.

"Listen, you pompous son of a-" she started, and was cut off by Tom tilting her chin up slightly and pressing his lips up to hers. The gesture was immediately reciprocated, the kiss intensifying by the second. Tom slid his hand down from her head to her back, and Janna bit his bottom lip aggressively. Tom could taste steak on her lips, medium rare if he had to make a guess. It was intoxicating.

"W...oah. I...I hate...you so...much." Janna mumbled after a minute or so, pushing against his chest. She noticed how the light of the flickering lamppost slid across his face gently, and she scorned herself for finding it attractive.

"You're beautiful." Tom replied, brushing a piece of hair away from her face. She'd never admit it but it gave her chills hearing those words escape his lips.

"Shut up." Janna replied. She wasn't sure what else to say, but she wasn't exactly the romantic type. Her lips were still tingling, and her mind refused to let go of the fact that she'd just made out with an attractive demon who thought she was pretty. And this time it wasn't just a weird dream.

Somehow, Tom pulled a flaming rose out of nowhere, presenting it to her smoothly.

"Come on!" he sighed. "It wasn't supposed to be on fire, I guess I'm nervous."

Janna let herself smile. "I like the fire." she replied, taking it from his hands. That wasn't a lie. She really did like the fire, and not just because she was sort of a pyromaniac. It was a gesture that was exclusively theirs, like when Marco Diaz would tuck a flower behind his girlfriend's ear, pressing a kiss up to the heart on her cheek if only to see it glow.

Little did she know that Tom had lit the flower on fire purposefully. It was symbolic, he'd thought, of both her fiery passion and how beautiful he thought she was. He wouldn't tell her that for years, not up until a certain proposal.

Flaming roses. Janna hated to say that she loved it.


	2. Chapter 2

"I think she hates me." Tom complained. "Just yesterday she punched me in the stomach and walked away."

Jackie sighed. "I think it's exactly the opposite." she replied. "Janna's...different when it comes to emotions. Either she likes you and can't admit it, or she's plotting your death."

Tom's face went pale, and Jackie punched his arm lightly.

"I'm joking." Jackie laughed. "You just need to show her that she doesn't have to be scared of romance. That sounded a lot better in my head..."

Tom took a deep breath. "You're saying I have to walk up to a girl who may or may not hate me and kiss her, aren't you?"

Jackie shrugged. "If I valued my internal organs I'd start with something a little less. So far as I know, Janna's never kissed anyone, and she'd probably murder you if you came anywhere close. Start with something...less."

Tom knew for a fact that statement wasn't true, not after that make-out session they'd shared the night they officially met at the winter formal. She'd just iced him out afterwards, like it had never happened.

Tom didn't understand why. He thought it had gone well.

"It's kind of cliché and she might make you eat it, but maybe you could start with a flower?" Jackie added.

Tom furrowed his eyebrows. "A flower?" he asked.

The flower. Oh, maybe that was it. Maybe because it was on fire...crap.

Tom looked across the hall, squinting at a girl with long blonde hair and her friend, who appeared to be whispering something to her.

The blonde girl turned, and Tom saw her face. Star.

Which meant the other girl was...

"Janna!" Tom called out, and the dark-haired girl didn't move a muscle. "Janna! We need to talk."

Janna turned around, and Tom watched as her chocolate eyes went wide.

"No, we don't." she said, obviously trying to hide behind the stack of textbooks in her arms.

Star smirked at her friend, and Janna shot her a glare.

"What do you need to talk about?" Star asked. "Do you want me to leave?"

Tom looked at his feet. "That'd be nice." he replied, and Janna turned to Star.

"Don't leave me." she hissed, but her bubbly friend skipped away in another direction. Janna started walking towards the door to the school, and Tom walked alongside her.

"What's up?" Tom asked. Janna shrugged.

"What do you mean?" she retorted nonchalantly, but from the look on her face Tom could tell she knew exactly where their conversation was going.

"Did I do something?" Tom questioned, taking the load of textbooks out of her arms. A small smile crossed her face. Maybe he was getting somewhere.

"No." Janna said. "Give me back my books."

Tom shook his head. "Not until you tell me what's going on."

Janna blew out a puff of air, ruffling her bangs. "I'm going to be late for wrestling night."

"Then I guess you'd better start talking." Tom said, reading a few of the titles of her books.

He hadn't known she was smart. Honors Trigonometry? Level 3 Spanish? As a sophomore? Tom was impressed. Why in the world did she spend so much time in detention?

"You'll think I'm stupid." Janna muttered, and Tom raised an eyebrow.

"I'm holding a 12th grade Chemistry book. Nothing would make me think you were stupid." Tom smiled, setting down the pile of books on the ground. "Come on, tell me." Janna looked at her feet, clearly embarrassed.

"Whenever I'm around you I have this weird feeling in my gut, and it always makes me feel really... awkward." Janna replied. "Are you happy now?"

Tom tilted her chin up so her eyes met his, and he gently pressed his lips up to her cheek. Janna let out a uncharacteristic small sigh, and covered her mouth. The feeling of the kiss sent chills down her spine, feeling her lips tingle as his warm breath brushed up against them. God, she wanted more, she wanted him to kiss her again like he had the night of the winter formal and to never stop. She couldn't very well just say that, though. So instead she stepped on his foot.

"What was that for?" Tom glared down at her, and Janna shrugged.

"I would be mad if I didn't love you." Tom said, and suddenly Janna felt an emotion that typically didn't run through her veins boiling inside of her, and in the spur of the moment she reached out, grabbing his shirt collar to pull him down to her height, and looking directly into his eyes.

"Say that again and I'll smack that smirk off of your stupid face." she whispered, and pulled back in shock. That wasn't what she'd wanted to say. Janna wasn't entirely sure what she'd wanted to say, but she hadn't meant to be...mean. Oh God, now he was looking at her with his fiery eyes and his perfectly arched eyebrows and it just made her want to slap his face as hard as she could.

Wait. That wasn't right.

There was another way to go about this.

Her nose accidentally brushed against his, and she felt her face heat up.

She looked up, her chocolate eyes meeting their fire red match.

And then she knew exactly what to do. She tugged on his shirt, pulling him closer and closer until his lips skimmed across hers. It sent a chill through her body, a smile lighting up her face like a Christmas tree.

Tom took a hand and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear, careful so as not to get it caught on her earrings. He moved his hand down, cupping her face and beginning to slowly caress her cheek. Tom's hands were warm, comforting in their own strange way. Her eyelashes batted as her eyes slowly closed, and she put her hand on top of his.

It was almost perfect, until Janna heard her older brother honking the horn of his rusty car, and she winced as she saw him watching her.

"I, uh..." Janna started, and Tom pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. She would have enjoyed it more if she knew her brother wasn't already staring them down.

"Same place, same time tomorrow?" Tom asked, and Janna rolled her eyes.

"If you think you can handle it." she replied, putting her hands on her hips.

"God, you're adorable." Tom replied, shaking his head, and Janna felt herself starting to blush, which she both hated and loved. She shoved her cold hands in her pockets, walking over towards the truck.

She glanced back a few times, and actually contemplated blowing a kiss in Tom's direction, which she would never have thought of doing even an hour ago.

Love was weird.


End file.
